Caring for a Space Maintainer
Your child has a small appliance holding a space open for a permanent tooth. Here is how to keep it working.
Your child had a space maintainer placed today. When a baby tooth comes out earlier than it should — from a cavity or an injury — the teeth on either side start drifting into the gap. That leaves the permanent tooth underneath with nowhere to come in. A space maintainer is a small metal appliance that holds that spot open until the permanent tooth is ready.
It is cemented in place, so there is nothing to take in and out. Your child will get used to it within a few days.
Keeping it clean
Nothing special is needed — regular brushing and flossing does the job. Just have your child brush carefully around the metal bands, where food likes to collect. A cavity underneath a space maintainer is the main thing we want to avoid.
Foods to skip
- Sticky candy — taffy, caramel, gummies, fruit snacks
- Chewing gum
- Ice, hard candy, and anything your child would bite down hard on
- Chewing on pens, pencils, or fingernails
Brush and floss like normal, skip sticky and hard foods, and call us right away if it feels loose.
What we will do
We will check the space maintainer at every routine six-month visit and take it out once the permanent tooth is on its way in.
Call us if…
A loose space maintainer needs to be re-cemented quickly. Left alone, decay can start underneath it and the space it was holding can close.
- The appliance feels loose or wiggles
- It comes out completely — save it and bring it in
- A wire is poking or rubbing your child’s cheek or tongue
- Your child has pain around the appliance
Coastal Kids Dentistry & Orthodontics · (619) 562-5437 · coastalkidsdo.com/handouts/space-maintainer-care
Sources & standards
This guidance is aligned with the standards of care of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry: AAPD Oral Health Policies & Recommendations